Patrick Healy Graduate Fellowship

History

Named in honor of Georgetown University’s 28th President, Patrick Healy, the first African American to earn a doctorate degree, and the first African American President of Georgetown University (1874–1882), the Patrick Healy Graduate Fellowship is intended to further Georgetown’s commitment to creating a diverse community composed of the most qualified students. The program is designed to help recruit and retain graduate students who are talented individuals of the highest caliber and who might otherwise find it difficult or impossible to successfully pursue a doctoral degree.

The Graduate School is committed to training future faculty, researchers and leaders with diverse perspectives, backgrounds and ideas who will enrich critical thinking, generate new areas of inquiry, and advance knowledge across all disciplines. Diversity is a crucial element in preparing students for the service of others. Healy Fellowships will be awarded to students whose individual life experiences, when evaluated holistically, suggests they are uniquely able to contribute to the diversity of perspectives and ideas at Georgetown University and in the academic profession as a whole.

Support will be provided to Patrick Healy Fellows for twelve months per year, for up to five years, assuming satisfactory progress toward the Ph.D.

Nomination Information

Students may not nominate themselves. Applicants interested in being considered for nomination need only check “yes” on the Healy Fellowship Interest block in the program application status portal.

Faculty may submit nomination statements of no longer than two (2) pages to the Fellowship Committee. The deadline for submission of nominations for Fall 2025 is 12:00 noon (EST) on Friday, February 21, 2025.

Nominated students must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents, entering their first year of a Ph.D. program. While the first year is a service-free year for all fellows, the students must be eligible to work in the U.S. at the time of admission and throughout their time at Georgetown. The nomination statement must include a description of how the student’s individual life experiences can contribute to the diversity of perspectives and ideas at Georgetown; and a paragraph on how the department plans to mentor and support the student if selected. If submitting multiple nominees, departments should rank them.

Healy Fellowships are awarded to students on the basis of their individual life experiences and how the student intends to employ the skills, perspectives, ideas, and other attributes they have developed as a result of their experiences to better the University and the academic profession. Students’ educational, familial, cultural, economic, social, and other life experiences are considered holistically in making awards to those who best demonstrate their ability to overcome significant disadvantages, as well as their commitment to supporting diversity and cultural understanding.

Georgetown is committed to inclusiveness and nondiscrimination. The Healy Fellowship is awarded to eligible students without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran, or other protected status.. To be considered, nominations must be submitted via the Healy Fellowship Nomination Form by the deadline.

The Healy Fellowship is designed to be a prestigious award, given to the best students that meet the fellowship criteria. As such, programs must commit to funding the nominee with a standard stipend package if a Healy Fellowship is not awarded.

For more information about the Patrick Healy Graduate Fellowship, please contact Elizabeth George (elizabeth.george@georgetown.edu) at the Graduate School.

Healy Fellows

Discover the doctoral programs of our incoming, current and former Healy Graduate Fellows and get to know them.

2024-25 Incoming Fellows

Patrick Grey

Program: History

Meet Patrick Grey

Claire Hazbun

Program: Government

Meet Claire Hazbun

Jenna Lugo

Program: History

Meet Jenna Lugo

Erykah Pasha

Program: Government

Meet Erykah Pasha

Alexander Rodriguez

Program: Government

Meet Alexander Rodriguez

Mary Ruxsarash

Program: Chemistry

Meet Mary Ruxsarash

Gabbi Williams

Program: Pharmacology & Physiology

Meet Gabbi Williams

Current & Former Fellows